Making Chicken Salad out of Chicken Crap!

[capt dom]

Was this Blackbeard’s sword?
By Brett Michael Dykes (Yahoo News)

[With Comments below by Rodney Hilton Brown]

By Brett Michael Dykes brett Michael Dykes – Fri Jan 14, 4:56 pm ET
Is this the hilt of Blackbeard's sword?
It's one of the latest finds aboard the remains of the ship the Queen Anne's Revenge, known at one time to be the flagship of Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard. The vessel ran aground on a North Carolina sandbar in 1718 and was abandoned; modern archaeologists have been excavating the shipwreck for more than a decade. The design and ornamentation of this newest discovery have led the researchers to believe it likely belonged to the notorious pirate himself.
Click image to see Blackbeard's recovered ornaments

NC Department of Cultural Resources
An imposing figure to begin with, according to historians, Blackbeard cultivated a ferocious appearance to seem even more menacing: a long dark beard, numerous knives, swords and pistols strapped to his chest -- even lighted fuses in his hair. In May of 1718, he used the ship to blockade the port of Charleston, S.C., and effectively hold the city hostage until he collected a considerable ransom.
[Photos: Explorers discover massive cave with room for jungle, skyscrapers]
He was eventually killed in battle off North Carolina by the Royal Navy, his head suspended from a naval sloop to warn other pirates.
[Discovery: One of the earliest photos of people]
Photos courtesy of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. For more pirate finds, visit the department's dedicated website, the Queen Anne's Revenge Shipwreck Project.

[Comments below by Rodney Hilton Brown]

Unfortunately, this is not Blackbeard's sword and the "authorities" should know that. FIRST, from a historical perspective, Blackbeard left the ship and he would not have left his personal weapons behind. SECOND, this sword hilt is not a naval cutlass of any kind, but rather a diminutive hunting sword, probably French by the design. THIRD, the design of the hilt looks like it more likely dates to 1740 to 1780, rather than the much earlier date of the ship's sinking, and LAST, Blackbeard was a giant size man, especially for his time. I bet he couldn't even have gotten all 5 of his big strong fingers around this diminutive grip, whose small delicate brass quillions (cross guard) would have hardly have protected anybody from the slash of a heavy steel cutlass blade. In reality, if a pirate did capture such a gentleman's hunting sword as booty, the first thing he might do is break the blade in half, re-sharpen the blade and use it as an extra belt knife. Rodney

[fladiverdown]

Can you say "journalistic sensationalsim"?

[capt dom]

In reality it probably was George Bogg's sword -
Like Rodney Stated....
if Blackbeard ever even had his hand on it - it would most probably
been refashioned into a hunting knife, ear wax cleaner or tooth pick.

Some publicist for a poorly funded, now public excavation project is attempting to
make chicken salad out of chicken sh_ _!

It must be coming up for budget time!

And they say we private sector salvagers like to embellish....

[bell47]

So let me get this straight........... Archeologist don't want treasure hunters to remove artifacts from shipwrecks because they claim that the treasure hunters will destroy the wreck. Yet, archeologist ,such as these, retrieve artifacts from a wreck and make up a good story about who the wreck and artifacts once possibly belonged to, and they blur the facts and make these claims so they get public funding (AKA TAX DOLLARS) to fund their jobs. Isn't this correct, There is NO PROOF that this wreck is the Queen Anne's Revenge, right? Sounds to me like the only pirates anywhere near this ship are the ARCHEOLOGIST. Just sayin'

[capt dom]

I am not suppose to make public statements like this....
but....

It appears the rats are guarding the cheese up in North Carolina as well...
Maybe we can get our Governor Rick Scott to follow Treasure Net so he can see

what actually is going on.... to the business of undersea exploration and
where the 21st century pirates are hanging out now a days....

[4theMoney]

The rats are breeding....glad someone notice what is going on up here.

[capt dom]

Funny thing about "rats" and the insiders...
They have a way of taking care of themselves.....

Once I had a beautiful Zodiac Grand Raid raft - I actually
had outfitted to hold a keene suction dredge with hose holes
in the transom. I packed it away one winter in its bag and went
off to Barcelona and Seville - so as to learn more about our shipwreck
site.

In the spring I opened up the zodiac bag and there were holes the size
of basket balls in the inflatable! Rats had managed to climb
into the bag and were sharpening their teeth - while chewing on my
raft....
I put a claim into my insurance company and they sent me back a letter
stating there was a "vermin" clause in my policy that excluded any re embursement
for rat shenanigans or damage!!!

I guess these guys don't think the rules or slander they write or perpetrate against us
don't apply to them!

[Smithbrown]

I would suggest you gentlemen need to go and read Swords for Sea Service by WE May and PGW Annis where you will find a section on the use of hunting swords and hangers by naval officers in the late 17th century.

I am curious why you would date it as late as the 1740s-80s; the decoration and pattern seems to me to fit easily into a late 17th century date.

Smithbrown

[capt dom]

We didn't date it.

The State archeologists in North Carolina originated the research
and planted the story. The further observation about the later date
was made by a Rodney Hilton, a collector of this type of memorabilia.
I just cut and pasted his remarks.

I went back and the way it laid out - it looked like the dating was
my quote... sorry

The computer and internet genies... made it look like I was dating the artifact.
I was not attempting to. What I am attempting to point out is
The jump that it was Blackbeards was one
heck of a leap!

[inletsurf]

Maybe we can get our Governor Rick Scott to follow Treasure Net so he can see

what actually is going on.... to the business of undersea exploration and
where the 21st century pirates are hanging out now a days....

LOL, with all the problems going on in the state, you really think Gov. Scott gives a flying s**t about treasure hunting or marine archeology?

[capt dom]

All Politicians are interested in good PR {public relations}
Even {outsiders} like our Honorable Governor, Rick Scot.

"Getting Florida back to Work", and "Stream lining State Government"
and rule making at state levels that interfere with getting Floridans back to work
still remains a key objective of his new staff.

I know a lot of good salvers here in the treasure coast that are dieing to get "back to work".
Florida's largest industry is based upon guess what.... "Tourism" This is the Treasure Coast!

You can bet your bottom dollar he and his folks can be made to listen....
A little inside info.....

They already are.....

[LM]

LOL, with all the problems going on in the state, you really think Gov. Scott gives a flying s**t about treasure hunting or marine archeology?

No one is making him care.
To be sure, it's not the most pressing issue on his plate, but that's because no one is really making it any sort of an issue.